


Yours, mine and ours – into something new.

by Thesaurus_with_no_words



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alien Biology, Alpha/Beta, Christmas, Communication, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Holidays, M/M, Mpreg, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Romance, Saiyans, Step-parents, Step-siblings, confused aliens trying to celebrate christmas, winter celebration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-19 03:31:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13115079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thesaurus_with_no_words/pseuds/Thesaurus_with_no_words
Summary: Celebrating holidays that you barely understand the reasons behind because you’re an alien is already weird, but add having to deal with his stepchildren, an over excited Goku, the gap that has grown between him and his own son, the fact that he is going to be a father again plus having to inform the rest of their patchwork family of that, and Vegeta certainly has enough to think about this Christmas.For the Kakavege week prompt: Winter Holidays.





	Yours, mine and ours – into something new.

 

Mornings on Earth were peaceful, or so Vegeta had come to think of them. When he had first arrived on the planet, he had found the infernal chirping of the birds and the morning rush-hour traffic intolerable. Now it was winter, the snow a thick white blanket covering mount Paozu and the birds temporarily silenced. There were no cars or fuel exhaust here either. Vegeta liked the quiet hush that fell over nature when it was cold, and the crunch sound his boots made when walking in the snow.

For now he was curled up in the window though, a warm mug of hot chocolate in his hands as he watched the snowflakes fall through the glass.

Goku broke the hush when he came lumbering in from outside and shook his head until the snow gathered there fell off. “Ah, Vegeta. You’re up.” He said with an easy smile as he laid down the firewood he had gone to get in front of their stove.

Watching his partner carefully, Vegeta took note of the healthy red flush of his cheeks and his bright eyes. “Yes. You weren’t here though. How are you feeling?”

Goku smiled apologetically. “Sorry ‘bout that, but I forgot we were out of wood yesterday, and I feel good. Walking was nice.” He started pulling off his jacket and unraveling his scarf, thereby slowly revealing his slightly rounded belly.

Vegeta smiled at the sight and pulled Goku close as soon as he was within reach. With a satisfied hum he drew in his mate’s sweet, full scent.

After defeating Buu, and after their relationship and then their family situations had changed, Goku had asked Dende to regrow his and Vegeta's tails out of nostalgia. Boy but had that led to a surprise. As it turned out, a saiyan beta did not mature properly or go into heat when their tail and the gland at the root had been removed or damaged. Goku had had no idea what he really was, and Vegeta, despite knowing about the differences between human and saiyan biology, had never suspected either. So Goku suddenly going into heat at the physical age of 31 had thrown them both for a loop. The results were not unwanted though.

Vegeta ran a hand over Goku's belly and smiled. They would not be the last saiyans after all.

“You know,” Goku said thoughtfully as he carted a hand through Vegeta’s hair, “at this time next year we'll have a baby. That's gonna be weird, huh?”

“Not any weirder than the rest of our lives.” Vegeta said.

Goku laughed. “Ha! That’s true. At least I'm getting past all the nausea and stuff. That's definitely the least nice part of this surprise.”

Silently, Vegeta suspected Goku would only think so until he experienced labor. Vegeta worried about that endlessly too. He wasn’t familiar enough with saiyan anatomy and biology to help in case anything went wrong.

“Have Bulma come around yet?” He asked instead. Vegeta wasn't currently welcome around Capsule Corp or anywhere near his now ex-wife. Not even after a year had gone by. Surprisingly Chichi had taken her husband leaving her a lot better than Bulma did, only taking half a year out of her calendar to make their lives a living hell, rather than a full one. But of course Chichi had already had seven years to get used to Goku's absence, for Bulma it had come as a shock.

Goku sighed. “Well, she didn’t throw anything at me the last time I dropped by to check, and she asked if I had gotten tired of you yet, so perhaps she's getting used to the idea. I didn’t tell her about the baby though. I don’t want to guilt her into helping.”

“If you don’t then I absolutely will.” Vegeta told him. “I'm not taking any risks. I don’t care how much of a natural midwife Chichi thinks she is just because she gave birth by herself twice, at Capsule Corp there are actual doctors.”

Goku just hummed and ran his fingers through Vegeta’s hair, then stole his now lukewarm chocolate and gulped it down. “There are still months to go. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He said flippantly, then took the empty mug out to the kitchen and placed it by the sink. “Anyway, do we have everything ready for tonight? The boys are coming over.”

“Yours or mine?” Vegeta asked as he followed Goku into the kitchen. He remembered now that they were celebrating some type of Earth winter holiday, but he didn’t recall the name or the reason behind it.

“Both, I think. It shouldn't cut into anything else for them since we're celebrating a day early.” Goku replied as he pulled out the giant pork side and the ducks he was planning on roasting for the night. Once he caught the scent of the raw meat though, he wrinkled his nose and stepped back. “Urgh. Forget what I said about the nausea being gone. The smell is turning my stomach. Vegeta, could you rinse, salt and stuff them for me instead? I'll make the filling.”

“If you tell me what to do, then yes.” Vegeta said and took Goku's place. He wasn’t exactly a culinary master, his skills only extended to roasting things over a fire or making eggs for breakfast. Goku wasn’t great in the kitchen either, but he was getting better since he got recipes from his ex-wife and had actually turned out to enjoy cooking. He got food out of it after all.

Generally Goku was the more useful of the two of them when it came to domestic shit. He knew how to grow a garden, tend a field, when certain wild vegetables or fish were in season and how to preserve stuff for winter. Meanwhile Vegeta had spent years growing used to the servant bots in Capsule Corp and the magically appearing food and clean clothes. Moving to Mt. Paozu with Goku had been a rude awakening to his lack of skills. But like with everything else, Vegeta was determined to surpass Goku in this too. He was already the better one at doing laundry, so he had taken over that duty for himself. Vegeta was proud of his growing abilities. Goku was just amused.

“Remind me again Kakarot, what is this holiday party about?” He asked as he rubbed salt into a duck’s skin.

Goku paused in chopping apples. “It depends what area you're from… Personally I didn’t celebrate it growing up, but Chichi celebrated solstice and Bulma does this other version called Christmas. It’s basically just about sharing a big meal with your family and giving gifts— to have fun. It makes the winter easier to get through, you know? The boys all grew up with some version of it, and Goten asked when we were celebrating at our place, so I figured we might as well.”

Vegeta hummed. So it was some seasonal celebration to cure boredom in the cold months? He could understand that. There were probably religious traditions behind it too, but he doubted Goku knew and Vegeta didn't care to. “Wait… Were we supposed to buy the boys gifts then? We don’t have anything.”

“Ah no, it's probably fine. I made some candy bags for Goten and Trunks and me and Chichi got Gohan a book. They'll probably get other presents when they celebrate with their mothers.” Goku reasoned. “Besides, we're telling them that they get a new sibling. That’s a pretty good gift, don’t you think?”

“Mmh.” Vegeta hummed noncommittally, not quite as sure of that as Goku was. He hoped so, certainly. At least he prayed it went over better than when the boys had found out that he and Goku were getting together. Goten hadn’t minded, seeing as he had never experienced being a family unit with his father and mother anyway, but Gohan had been very upset and Trunks had been downright furious for a long time. His son coming over and talking to Vegeta again was still a relatively new thing.

They continued the food preparations for the evening until Goku's eyes started dropping and he lost his grip on a potato which caused him to nick himself in the palm with the peeling knife. “Auch!”

Vegeta swirled around at his mate's startled sound and the smell of blood. “Idiot! Tell me you didn’t hit a vein!” Vegeta yelled as he hurried over and pressed a towel against Goku's wound.

Goku looked up at him, unimpressed with Vegeta's overreaction. “The knife just slipped. It'll stop bleeding in a minute.” He assured.

Vegeta's mouth grew taunt and he didn’t let up the pressure on the towel. Having an actual saiyan mate who was pregnant was bringing up a lot of instincts in Vegeta, most of which he had never been taught to deal with since he had been a child when their planet was destroyed. “Go take a nap after I bandage your hand. You look pale.”

Goku sighed. He would probably need no more than a Band-Aid. Even so he just nodded and let Vegeta fuss. It was only something the older man had started doing after Goku became pregnant, so he wasn't used to it, but it seemed to help Vegeta deal with his instincts.

Soon after, Goku was deposited on their couch, eyelids already dropping. Before he could nod off though, he happened to focus on the middle of the room, and noticed that something was missing. “Ah! Darn it. I completely forgot about the Christmas tree.” He turned his head towards Vegeta, who was busy covering him with a blanket. “Vegeta, you have to go chop down a tree.”

“…Excuse me what?” Vegeta asked, eying Goku more than skeptically. “A tree? Why?”

“A Christmas tree.” Goku repeated. “You know, one of the cone formed evergreen ones. I bet you’ve seen one before.” He said.

Thinking off it, Vegeta _had_ seen them around, usually decked out in lights and ornaments. Bulma had used to put them up around Capsule Corp every winter, though Vegeta was only just making the connection to the holiday. “Fine.” Vegeta grumbled. “But stay put.”

Goku smiled innocently up at him, which probably meant that he had no intention of following orders.

Even so, Vegeta put on his jacket and his boots and stepped out into the snow. It crunched under his feet as he walked towards the woods. With no idea where to look for this specific kind of tree, Vegeta soon took to the air to survey a larger area. Despite his speed, it still took him an hour to find a suitable tree, one young and small enough to actually fit in their living room. Even so the top of it would probably brush the ceiling, provided they could even get it through the front door. Goku might have to instant transmission it inside.

Goku was still sleeping when Vegeta came back though, apparently too tired to get up to much trouble. It had been like that for a while, with Goku suffering constant fatigue and nausea, though they had figured out that ginger mint tea helped with the latter. Despite his fearsome strength and rigidly trained body, carrying a child was still taking a lot out of him. It was no secret that Goku couldn't wait for the whole experience to be over with, and Vegeta silently agreed. He missed sparring with his rival, a title Goku still held despite their other relationship.

Since there was no point in waking him up and sending him back into a stressful preparation mode, Vegeta let him sleep and started cleaning on his own. He knew how to do that at least. He had been forced to figure it out, because the smell of cleaning products had made Goku ill enough to throw up for quite a while now. These days all their soaps were perfume free, which Vegeta actually preferred too, especially over anything that was artificially lemon scented. That was just torture to saiyan noses.

Normally Vegeta would have used any spare time to train, but since they figured out that Goku was pregnant… Vegeta didn’t like leaving him alone. He knew, logically, that Goku was still the strongest person on Earth and probably in most of the universe, but his instincts and emotions didn’t seem to care. Somehow Vegeta got the feeling that leaving Goku alone would be catastrophic. If only some of their sons had lived with them, then Vegeta might have been able to relax. Goku called it pack mentality, and Vegeta was inclined to agree. There was safety in numbers when one of your pack members was vulnerable.

Had he had a better relationship with Bulma when she was carrying Trunks, Vegeta might have experienced the same impulses then. Instead he had been furious at her for getting pregnant and keeping the child when she had promised him that what they had was strictly sex. He had felt cheated, played for a fool, and had had no interest in his half breed bastard spawn. Only meeting the future version of Trunks, seeing what a fierce and kind hearted young man he was, and then witnessing him get meaninglessly killed by Cell, had eventually changed Vegeta's mind. After that, he had finally tried to be a father to Trunks.

This time he intended to do better from the start.

 

xXx

 

Vegeta was sitting in one of their arm chairs, leafing through a cook book as the fire cackled in their cast iron stove. He looked up when he heard Goku stretch and groan.

Goku sat up and squinted against the low light as he slowly came back online. He yawned, then sniffed the air curiously. “You cleaned. How long was I out?”

“It’s after noon now.” Vegeta responded as he put down his book. “The food is ready for the oven. I thought it'd be a good idea for you to rest before the kids show up. You know they'll drag you around all night.”

Goku looked pleased at the prospect. Over the last year and a half since he came back, he had managed to really endear himself to his youngest son. Even with the dramatic and stressful divorces he and Vegeta had gone through, he had come out on the other side with a free card to see his sons whenever he wanted. Vegeta almost hadn’t. Bulma was an intelligent and generous woman, but she was also spiteful as hell.

Goku looked at the clock on the wall and made a face. “Geez, it’s already this late? Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You were still asleep when I came back with the tree. You looked like you needed it.”

“Still…” Goku said as he stood up and stretched. “They'll be here soon and we're not done yet. If you put things in the oven then I'll get the tree in and put up.”

It was a good thing Vegeta had double checked with the cookbook, because Chichi’s recipe was written in chicken scratch. He managed to get things set up though, and judging by the noise coming from the living room, it was with plenty of time left before Goku was done with his job. Slightly concerned by the noises, Vegeta dried off his hands and walked back into the den. “Kakarot, what are you struggling with? It’s just a damn tree.”

It quickly became apparent what the problem was. Goku was trying, futilely, to get the tree upright without knocking anything over, which was near impossible with the tree itself being so big. Vegeta narrowly saved a vase from getting knocked over and broken, then immediately regretted it. He had never liked that vase, it had been given to them as a move in present by Krillin, but it was so ugly that Vegeta was still sure it was a practical joke. Unfortunately, Goku liked it.

Speaking of, Goku was currently trying to breathe through the evergreen needles covering most of his face and torso. “Ah, Vegeta. Little help here?” He asked.

“I really don’t see why this was necessary. We’re just going to have to get rid of it tomorrow.” Vegeta growled as he walked over and helped his mate get free of his burden. With their shared effort, and Vegeta directing the endeavor, they managed to get the tree upright and steady.

Goku stood back and wiped his brow. “Aww, come on. It looks good! Plus it’s not like it’ll go to waste. I’ll turn it into firewood once we’re done with it.”

“Hmpf.” Vegeta responded and crossed his arms. To him it just looked like any other tree in the forest, except displaced to their living room. “And now what? You don’t have anything to hang on it, do you?”

“…” Goku stared at the tree silently, then at Vegeta. “I… I forgot.”

“Of course you did.” Vegeta muttered and rubbed his brow.

“What do we do Vegeta?!”

“It’s nothing to panic about Kakarot.” He told his pale mate. “Just call Gohan and tell him you messed up.” If nothing else, Gohan was used to fixing his dad’s goof ups, at least things of this caliber.

Goku ran off, presumably to do just that.

Vegeta sighed and went to pick out a bottle of wine from their basement. He was going to need it to deal with tonight.

Five minutes later Goku returned, smiling in relief. “They were just on their way out the door, but Gohan is bringing a box of extra decorations from home. They’ll be here in a bit. Can you go greet them? I have to take a bath before they show up.”

“Now? Couldn’t you have thought of that earlier?!” Vegeta asked, having no particular desire to ‘greet’ Goku’s children. It was bad enough that he was technically their stepdad, but the fact that he had to _act_ like it continued to irk him.

“I didn’t need it then.” Goku called to him, already running up the stairs to the upstairs bathroom. “Please do it!” He called, just as Vegeta heard the bathroom door slam.

Vegeta sighed again. It was probably because of more heat flashes. Goku got them even when he wasn’t doing anything, but struggling with the tree most likely hadn’t helped. When they happened Goku could sweat through several layers in minutes, and was most often found lying around half naked, skin sensitive and overheated. Though he rarely complained outright, his eyes in those moments screamed ‘you’d better stay away, this is all your fault’ at Vegeta loud and clear.

Because there was nothing to do inside, and because he _was_ trying to make an effort, Vegeta pulled on his jacket and stalked outside. Hands deep in his pockets, he leaned against the wall of their house and looked up at the already reddening sky. The darkness came early during these months.

He didn’t have to wait long before Gohan and Goten appeared in the horizon, backlit by the setting sun. Soon after they landed in front of Vegeta, and Goten smiled at the sight of him.

“Vegeta!” Goten called happily as soon as he touched down, and threw himself at his stepdad, ending up hugging Vegeta’s legs since the older man hadn’t bent to greet him. “I missed you!”

“Uh—Hello, Goten.” Vegeta said uncomfortably and placed a hand on the boy’s head. During the first years of the boy’s life, Vegeta had been the closest thing he got to a father figure, especially with all the time he had spent at Capsule Corp to hang out with Trunks. To this day Vegeta still had no clue what he had done to endear himself to the kid. Yes, he had sometimes told him about Goku and about the saiyans, a long dead warrior people whose blood the boy shared, but that was hardly much…

While his little brother was busy nuzzling against Vegeta, Gohan was looking around. “Where’s dad?” He asked.

“Taking a bath.” Vegeta replied. “He got so caught up in preparing everything that he forgot.” And he had napped for several hours on the couch, but Vegeta didn’t mention that part.

Gohan nodded and shuffled his feet a bit, hefting the box he was carrying awkwardly. Vegeta eyed him for a moment, wondering if he was going to say anything, but it didn’t seem like it. After a moment Vegeta just motioned for the door. “You can go inside. Your dad will come down to you soon.”

“Oh—Okay.” Gohan said and took Vegeta up on the offer, getting his brother inside too despite Goten wanting to stay outside with Vegeta.

“I wanna wait for Trunks too!” Goten complained, somehow guessing exactly what Vegeta meant to do. Vegeta didn’t hear Gohan’s response before the front door closed behind them.

He was left alone, his breath creating steamy mist in the frosty air as he watched the stars start to appear. Vegeta wasn’t entirely sure for how long he stood there, but once the sun had completely disappeared and it had turned dark, he finally let his arms fall to his side and looked down. It would seem Trunks wasn’t coming.

Vegeta shouldn’t have been so surprised by that, but somehow he still was. Every time his son rejected him, Vegeta was thrown for a loop. It was a stark turnaround to before, when Trunks had been the one chasing him, always eager to spend time with his aloof father. When Vegeta had told Bulma he was leaving, Trunks had pretty much immediately found out thanks to his mother’s screaming and yelling. After that, Vegeta had had two people yelling at him, accusing him of abandoning them, two-timing, being the worst, etc… It really hadn’t been a good way for an eight year old to learn about his parents splitting up, and Vegeta regretted the way it had happened. It had made it seem like Vegeta was leaving Trunks too, instead of just ending the romantic part of his relationship with his wife. It had left a scar.

Vegeta’s hand was already on the door handle, his shoulders slumped, when a familiar ki caught his attention. Surprised, Vegeta turned around and watched as his son streaked across the sky like a jet plane, only to land in front of Vegeta, some feet away.

“Hey…” Trunks muttered, not really making eye contact.

“Ah, hi…” Vegeta responded awkwardly. Always so awkwardly these days. He wasn’t sure how to breach the gap.

“…Mom told me to bring some presents to put under the tree.” Trunks said after a moment, hefting a bag which had been slung over his shoulder until now. Vegeta hadn’t noticed it before he mentioned it.

“She did?” Vegeta asked, surprised. Maybe Goku was right then, and Bulma really was coming around from hating his guts to just not wanting to see him. He hoped so, since she really wasn’t a fun person to be in conflict with. But of course he _had_ left her in favor of her childhood friend, after several years of marriage. Before Goku came back, Vegeta had actually been fairly okay with the status quo, but he had to admit, that if Goku had come back sooner, or just been revived right away, Vegeta would probably have left much sooner too…

“Yea, there’s nothing for you though.” Trunks told him, tone defiant.

“That’s fine.” Vegeta said and motioned for him to go inside first. “As long as she packed something for Goten.”

Trunks looked a little miffed that Vegeta hadn’t reacted to the snub, but he walked past his father and inside anyway. Vegeta followed, and they both dressed down and took off their snow covered boots in silence.

When they entered the living room, Vegeta’s eyes immediately sought Goku, who was seated on the floor, wearing an oversized knit sweater to hide his bump, and was looking through the decorations box together with an exited Goten. Gohan was watching them both from one of the armchairs, still keeping a bit of an unconscious distance from his father, even if he was smiling. They all looked up when Vegeta and Trunks entered.

“Trunks!” Goten cried happily. “Look! We get to decorate the Christmas tree here by ourselves!” He looked completely stroked at the prospect since Chichi was always in charge of the decorations at home. “Mom let us have all these decorations, and we can keep them here for next year too.”

Trunks looked marginally intrigued, and came closer to his friend to look. “Oh, that’s cool, I guess? I’ve never decorated a Christmas tree before.” He was used to them just appearing around the premises, already decked out in lights and glitter. “My mom sent presents with me though. There are things for you and Gohan too!” He said proudly and showed off the bag.

Goten’s eyes lit up and he made grabby hands, but Goku chuckled and stopped the boys from ripping into the wrappings right away. “That’s was nice of your mother Trunks, and I’m happy you could make it, but we’re eating first.” Goku said with a smile at the lavender haired boy.

Trunk’s eyes widened and he looked down. “Oh, uhm, right.” He said, shuffling his feet. To Trunks, Goku was the stranger who had just suddenly appeared one day and had then seduced his father into leaving his family. Even if Goku had helped defeat a strong opponent, and saved the world, he was still a relative stranger to Trunks who had no memories of meeting him as a baby.

Perhaps it was instinct, but Goku was smart enough not to push it. Instead he smiled genuinely between Gohan and Trunks. “Why don’t you both come and pick five pieces to start with, then we’ll take turns after that.” He suggested, inviting them to participate in the tree decorating. Both boys came over to join, Gohan a bit faster than Trunks.

Vegeta was about to sit down, content to watch, when Goku’s eyes locked with his. “Ah, you too Vegeta.” He said, which was really more of a demand. Briefly, Vegeta thought about complaining and getting around it, but in the end he gave in. It was all for the plan of making their patchwork family get along.

Luckily dressing up the tree turned out to be a relatively pain free procedure. Goten and Trunks only got in a fight about where to put a certain ornament once, and otherwise the chatter mainly consisted of Goku reminiscing about celebrations they had had when Gohan was little, before Raditz had showed up. Hearing his father talk with fondness about those days made Gohan’s muscles slowly relax from their tense state. He might be less see through about it than Trunks, but Vegeta knew that the teenager was also having a hard time with his father leaving their first family unit, and this time not because of death or a strong adversary.

…Well, technically Vegeta _was_ once Goku’s adversary, but these days he was practically reformed. At least being brought back after Buu as one of ‘the good guys’ seemed to suggest so.

When the tree was thoroughly covered in in glimmer and multicolored ornaments, and their two youngest had somehow succeeded in getting glitter everywhere, Goku lifted his nose and sniffed the air. “Vegeta, I think you need to go start the potatoes and stuff, or we’ll get dry meat.” He said, then caught Goten before the little boy could run off, somehow sensing what was coming. “I’ll get these two cleaned up.” Goku added, keeping a secure grip on his kid and using his tail to wind around Trunks, thereby letting the other boy know that he wasn’t getting away either.

“Fine with me.” Vegeta said, happy to foist off cleaning their kids on Goku. Potatoes didn’t whine when they were washed. “Gohan, come help me.” He said as he walked into the kitchen, while listening to the children’s complaining start up in the background.

Gohan followed him hesitantly.

“Here, start peeling.” Vegeta told him and stuck a bowl of thick skinned potatoes in his arms as soon as he was inside. “There are more in the bag over there.”

“Oh, uhm, okay…” Gohan stuttered, fumbling with the bowl so he didn’t drop it.

It gave Vegeta a headache to see Goku’s oldest to be so damn clumsy. The boy held more potential than anyone else, more potential than Goku even, but he was content to let it fade away, to waste it by doing nothing but read and study all day every day. According to what Vegeta had seen, Gohan hadn’t always been so meek. The boy may not prefer fighting above all else like a full-blooded saiyan did, but it was still in him. His more than controlling tiger mom had certainly managed to beat that out of him though, over the years Goku was dead. Vegeta had tried to influence Gohan to embrace the other side of his heritage, but despite the years gone by, Gohan was still subconsciously weary of him, so Vegeta hadn’t had much luck. Childhood trauma would do that to a person, Vegeta supposed, though it seemed a bit unfair. Vegeta was the one who had been defeated and crushed by Gohan in his oozaru state, but did he hold a grudge? No.

If Gohan and Krillin hadn’t intervened in the fight back then, Vegeta really would have ended up killing Goku. These days the thought was enough to turn him cold inside out.

They worked in silence for a while, Vegeta trying to figure out what the hell ‘baked sauce’ meant, while Gohan peeled away.

“Uhm, Vegeta? Can I ask you something?” The teenager spoke up to ask, breaking the silence.

Vegeta grunted in affirmation, while watching Gohan out of the corner of his eye.

Gohan shifted in his seat, eyes flickering as he licked his lips. “I’m probably imagining it. I mean, I _must_ be imagining it, but perhaps there’s some sort of other explanation, because I just can’t see how—“

Vegeta cut him off. “Get to the point boy.”

“…Right.” Gohan bowed his head and scratched his neck. “So dad’s ki, I happened to feel it when I came in, and it feels like… I mean, it _resembles_ mom’s when she was… When she was pregnant with Goten.” He laughed a little. “Crazy, right?”

Vegeta had frozen as soon as Gohan spoke. Now he slowly put down the spoon he had been using to stir the pot, turned down the heat and spun around to face the teenager who was watching him wearily. Vegeta hadn’t expected Gohan to have enough cognizance to make the connection, neither had Goku. Now Vegeta crossed his arms and eyed him carefully. “…..What if I told you that you aren’t imagining it?”  

Gohan lost the grip on the potato he had been peeling and the vegetable rolled away. “But, that’s—“ His jaw dropped and his eyes widened. “That means—“

“Yes.” Vegeta confirmed instead of continuing to watch him struggle. “Keep in mind that we’re saiyans though, not human. We had more than two genders on Vegetasei, and your father just so happens to be the third one, though we didn’t realize it until recently.”

Gohan just stared, his face pale, knife held loosely in his hand and work forgotten. Vegeta didn’t like how horrified he looked.

Clenching his jaw, Vegeta stalked over and got in Gohan’s face. “Your father is _really_ excited to tell you, and he thinks you’ll be happy. So you have two choices now.” Vegeta hissed, grabbing the front of Gohan’s shirt collar and pulling him close. “Either you plaster on a smile and act happy and surprised when he tells you, _or_ you get the hell out of our house and you don’t come back until you’ve managed to deal with it.”

Vegeta pushed him back harshly and stepped back, crossing his arms once more. “If it’s the latter, then I’ll tell him you had some sort of emergency with your girlfriend and cover for you. But I won’t allow you to spoil this for him. So what’ll it be?”

Gohan opened and closed his mouth like a fish, then looked down, hands clenching in his lap. He was quiet for a full minute, and Vegeta started mentally preparing to console his mate, but then Gohan looked back up. “I-I’ll stay. But I… I’ve got questions.”

Something in Vegeta’s chest unclenched a little. “Of course you do.” He said. “But you’ll have to wait to get them until we’ve also told your brothers.” It would seem more like he was genuinely surprised if Gohan asked questions then. “For now you just need to know that it’s natural, and wanted. Also, your mother already knows, just in case you were thinking about that.”

Telling Chichi had actually been the thing that finally made her thaw to her ex-husband. It was like after finding out that he was so alien that being ‘gay’ and getting pregnant was normal for him, Chichi had been able to finally let it go. “It’s not like I can turn myself into a guy.” She had said, and then she had started fussing around Goku, talking about baby clothes and nursery colors, as if being pregnant had suddenly made him even marginally aware of such things. Goku had looked confused but pleased to be back in her good graces.

Gohan was certainly looking calmer after the assurance too, which made Vegeta suspect that a big part of his worry had been about his mother. Color was coming back to his cheeks and his eyes were getting that curious twinkle. “So what _is_ dad exactly, since he can do this?” He asked, ignoring Vegeta’s demand to ask questions later.

Vegeta realized that Gohan was unlikely to let it go, so he sighed and pulled out a chair to sit across from his stepson. “Keep peeling.” He said, making it clear that he would only start talking once Gohan did. The teenager jumped to comply, and started looking for the knife he had dropped.

Vegeta used the time to gather his thoughts. “As I said saiyans have more than two genders, three to be exact. Alphas, which is what I am, and female and male betas. Alphas are only able to sire children, and female betas are only able to carry them. Kakarot is a male beta and can do both, though if his tail gland in charge of mating hormones hadn’t been damaged when he was so young, he would probably have been more inclined towards the latter.”

“Damaged?” Gohan said. “You mean dad never, uh, went through hormonal maturity, so to speak?” He asked, quick to put things together.

“His secondary features never matured, no.” Vegeta confirmed. “Not before he suddenly got his tail back as an adult. That coupled with having an alpha mate meant his body decided to play catch up, fast.”

“How come you never noticed before?” Gohan asked, probably thinking what Vegeta himself had thought of before. If, after Namek, he had known there was a beta from his own species around, wouldn’t he have pursued Goku? If nothing else then to continue his royal bloodline without polluting it? Vegeta admitted that had he known, then yes, he probably would have.

“He never smelled like one to me.” Vegeta said. “Granted, he didn’t smell quite _right_ either, not really like a saiyan alpha… But male betas were so damn rare that I just never considered it. I was as shocked as he was when he suddenly started smelling different and then went into heat.”

“Whoa, heat?!” Gohan asked, eyes wide again. “Like cats and dogs get?”

“Like a lot of mammals get, I’m sure.” Vegeta said. “He doesn’t lose any agency though, don’t worry about that. I wouldn’t say he is clearheaded exactly, but that’s mostly to do with the heightened aggression. Heat also gives a power boost to betas, so that was…” Vegeta winced. His bruises had taken over a week to go down.

Gohan looked intrigued, and he had completely forgotten about the potatoes once more. “He gets aggressive? What’s the power boost for? Did you two fight? How long does it last?”

Vegeta held up a hand to stop the onslaught of questions. “Keep peeling.” He said, which made Gohan pick the work back up. “In short, betas get stronger and more aggressive when they go into heat, so they can test the strengths of the ones they’re interested in, or fight off those they aren’t. If they don’t settle on anyone, then it’ll take about a week to taper off, but if they do find someone, it’s closer to three days.”

“How long does pregnancy last then? How did you even know? Does it work different when—“

“That’s enough for now.” Vegeta said and stood up. “I still need to make the sauce and the vegetables. You can pester your dad about it later, he should know it all by now, but by all means, give him a pop quiz on the subject.” Goku could stand to have it repeated. Vegeta was never sure how much the other man decided to pay attention to and remember, and this was pretty important.

Gohan looked disappointed to have been stopped, but Vegeta was relieved. Endless questions and curiosity he could deal with, but if Gohan had been disgusted or chosen to avoid them… It would have broken Goku’s heart.

Vegeta was back to cooking and trying to keep track of the recipe when Gohan suddenly interrupted him again.

“You really love dad, don’t you.” He said thoughtfully. It wasn’t even a question.

Vegeta almost dropped an entire jar of redcurrant jam into the sauce. “What?!” He asked, neck cracking with how fast he swirled his head around.

Gohan was looking back at him unapologetically. “When you thought I’d react badly, you told me to get out, instead of risking me making him sad. You’re also going along with the whole Christmas thing, though I know you never participated in any holiday when you lived with Bulma.” He gestured at Vegeta and his place in front of the stove. “You’re even cooking!”

“I…” Vegeta had no answer for that, and denial would be a lie. Instead he huffed and turned back to his work. “Just peel the damn potatoes and shut up.”

Gohan giggled. “Yes sir.”

The food was almost done, the table set, and Vegeta could hear Goku and the two kids running around upstairs, probably playing tag or hide and seek, when he decided to bring something up that had weighed on his mind for a while.

“Gohan.” He said, calling the teenager’s attention. “Since you already know about your dad being pregnant, we might as well have a talk now.”

Gohan finished setting down the serving dish of potatoes, and looked at him with worry. “Is there something else? Something bad?”

“Not necessarily, but there could be problems.” Vegeta said. “I’m sure you have noticed how everyone, including yourself, relies on Kakarot to protect the Earth, or even the universe. Even when he was dead it didn’t stop you.” Vegeta couldn’t keep out a faint bitterness in his tone, not because of jealousy, but because of the idiocy of constantly relying on someone else when you could get stronger yourself. “Well, there will be none of that for a long time, so if anyone attacks, you’re on your own.”

“Wha—why?! What do you mean?” Gohan asked.

Vegeta sent him a dull look. “What do you _think_ I mean? Kakarot is pregnant. He’s already loosing energy and power, not to mention muscle mass because he can’t train as hard anymore. After giving birth it’ll take a long time before he is back to a hundred percent. Actually, it will probably take a while for him to even be interested. Betas with young cubs are pretty reclusive and like their peace. He’ll probably be content to just… Be a mother for your sibling, for at least a year.” Vegeta said as he leaned back against the counter, while watching his stepson carefully to see if the connotations were seeping in. “If we end up having more than one, which we might, he’ll be out of commission even longer.”

Now Gohan looked downright pale, hands clenching around the back of a dining chair hard enough for the wood to creak. “But dad’s the strongest, if he’s not here then—“

“Someone else will have to take his place.” Vegeta finished for him, while gazing at Gohan steadily.

Finally the boy seemed to get that Vegeta wasn’t referring to himself. “But I can’t! I have my school and—“

“No.” Vegeta broke him off harshly. “You absolutely can, you just don’t want to. You’re content to pretend you’re human, that you’re powerless, while you tell yourself that it’s not your responsibility. Meanwhile your dad got this responsibility placed on him when he was even younger than you, as soon as he surpassed Muten Roshi in fact. He protected the Earth, and he didn’t complain, not even when he had to risk his soul to clean up the mess you made from letting your powers rot as soon as there was a hint of peacetime.”

Gohan flinched. “That’s not fair Vegeta, you made a mess too! You turned Majin and—“

“And I apologized to him for that, and helped fix my mistake. Can you say the same?” Vegeta countered.

Eyes watery from heightened emotion, Gohan turned his head away.

“For saiyans, peace is never lasting. There will always be someone stronger out there, waiting to rip away everything you care about.” Vegeta said, and briefly closed his eyes. He had experienced that himself far too often. “But right now Kakarot is getting a break. The Earth won’t be his problem, not for the next couple of years, maybe longer. I’ll still be here, but the last several times I wasn’t enough. We needed _you_ to defeat Cell, and back then Kakarot still died.”

Gohan wiped his eyes to keep tears from falling. Vegeta knew he still blamed himself and his hesitance to connect with his deeper powers and _kill_ a completely ruthless monster for his dad dying. If Gohan hadn’t hesitated, Goku might have lived. Vegeta was being harsh, and pressing on a lot of sore spots, but he didn’t care, not if that was what it took to get the point across. He went for the finishing move. “Next time something happens, and you’re too weak to help, it won’t just be your dad you’re risking.” Vegeta said coldly. “And if something happens to either of them, or to Goten and Trunks, when you could have prevented it, then I’ll never forgive you.”

At first it looked like Gohan would cry, but after a moment of his tears almost spilling, Gohan surprisingly lifted his head and looked Vegeta in the eyes. “I’d never forgive myself either.” He said.

 _‘Perfect.’_ Vegeta thought with a small smile. “Then you won’t mind joining me in training from tomorrow onwards.”

“Hah, you actually just want a training partner you can hit.” Gohan joked shakily, while wiping his eyes again. They looked puffy now, from the tears he had held back.

“Hmpf. Don’t kid yourself. Getting your sorry carcass back in shape will not further my own training in any way.” Vegeta responded, but not as harshly as before, just with his normal level of gruffness.

Gohan tried smiling, and it came out a little wobbly, but it was genuine. “You know, dad never scolded me like that, and he’s my _dad._ ”

“Technically, so am I.” Vegeta responded, because it was true. Besides, if he was expected to continue talking and beating sense into the kid, raising him, so to speak, then he damn well deserved the respect of getting it acknowledged at least.

Gohan looked startled for a moment, as if it hadn’t occurred to him before, but then he actually laughed. “At least stepdads are supposed to be mean, so I guess you fit the criteria.”

“I’m mean because I care. If I didn’t, I’d let you waste away and discover your stupidity by yourself.” Vegeta said, just as he heard steps coming down the stairs.

Goku came into the room carrying Goten and with Trunks trailing behind. “Sorry I left you guys with all the cooking. These two decided to play hide and seek with me upstairs and I couldn’t find them at all!” He stated exaggeratedly.

Goten giggled happily, and even Trunks looked mildly pleased. “That’s ‘cause I’m really good at it.” The lavender haired boy said.

Gohan had sneakily left for the bathroom just moments before, probably to throw cold water in his face, so Vegeta was left to settle the rest at the table. “There’s a duck for each of you, but the pork-side you have to share.” He told them, though Goku of course already knew.

“Thank god for industrial sized ovens.” Goku laughed as he snatched a duck for himself. They had invested in one after moving in together and quickly figuring out that two saiyans ate more than a regular oven could cook at once. So far it was really paying off.

Gohan came back and sat down, sending a smile to his family. “It looks good dad.” He praised.

“Say that to Vegeta. I was supposed to do it, but I ended up just supervising because the smell bothered me.” Goku said, not catching his slipup in time. Goku was normally never bothered by food. “Ah, I mean…” He fumbled for an excuse. “I’ve been feeling a bit sick for a while. Probably the flu.”

“Oh? You should take it easy then. Make sure to get plenty of rest until you feel better.” Gohan said, managing to keep a straight face with the appropriate level of concern. Vegeta was almost impressed.

Goku certainly fell for it and just smiled back, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. He shared a look with Vegeta and grinned, excitement clear in his eyes. Vegeta smiled back, more sure now that breaking the news would go well. He wasn’t concerned about Goten’s reaction, but there was still Trunks…

The rest of the meal went by mostly in silence, the saiyans and demis all too busy stuffing their faces and their bellies to talk. The meat was a bit dry, and the sauce was too sweet, but overall it was passable. When there was nothing left but bones, Gohan took the initiative to start gathering the plates. Goten and Trunks were practically vibrating in their seats though, and Goku noticed. “Just leave the dishes for now.” He said. “Let’s wash our hand and go unpack some presents, then the boys will have time to play before bedtime.”

Vegeta suspected that Goku’s own eagerness to get through unwrapping had just as much to do with wanting to reveal their own surprise, but he agreed nonetheless. They all shuffled into the living room, and Vegeta took a seat on the couch, arms stretched across the back of it while he tried to digest. He felt a lot like a stuffed duck himself right now. Goku saw his chance and was quick to take the seat next to him and snuggle up. Vegeta tensed up for a moment before consciously relaxing his muscles and putting an arm around him. Public displays of affection didn’t suit him, but the people here were just their sons. Showing some care towards his partner could only help the view they had on their dads’ relationship.

Trunks certainly stared as Goku nuzzled his way under Vegeta’s chin, eyes half lidded and blissfully full too. Vegeta had never had much patience for Bulma doing anything of the sort, not because he hadn’t liked her but… With Goku it was just different. Somehow, despite their years long rivalry, having Goku near his throat didn’t set him off. Vegeta instinctually recognized him, his scent saying mate, beta, pregnant, safe and comfort.

“Find each other something to unwrap.” Vegeta instructed the boys, when he noticed that Gohan was also staring.

Goten already had his head under the tree. “I found one for me!” He exclaimed happily, while pulling out a big package. His eyes were shining. His mother wasn’t very well off, and before Mr. Satan had offered them the price money for ‘saving the Earth’, Goku and Vegeta had had to mindful of their savings too, so Goten was used to secondhand and hand-me-downs. Seeing his joy, Vegeta let him have it.

Meanwhile Trunks found something for Gohan, then dugout one for himself. The boys then tore into their presents, though Gohan tried to do so politely. The youngest two got toys and games, and Gohan got a mix of books and practical things, stuff he would need and could use for a long time. The teenager looked immensely happy at the sight of a set of expensive refillable ballpoint pens.

Goku and Vegeta, both sleepy and full, just watched them from the couch.

“I have one for you daddy.” Goten suddenly exclaimed, finally remembering after he had gotten his own presents. “Where is it…” He looked around, a bit lost.

“In my jacket pocket.” Gohan reminded him.

Goten ran to get it, then went over to the couch and handed a messily wrapped package to his dad, but surprisingly, he also held one out to Vegeta. “I made one for you too!”

“Oh.” Vegeta said, and carefully took the proffered gift. The crumbled paper was green, whereas Goku’s was red. “Thank you.”

“Oooh, I wonder what it is.” Goku said excitedly, which caused Goten to squirm and giggle. They both unpacked at the same time.

It wasn’t immediately apparent just what the present was supposed to be, only that it was definitely self-made by an eight year old. Vegeta turned the awkwardly shaped and brightly colored lump of clay around in his hands, while trying to look appreciative. Meanwhile Goku seemed to get exactly what the figures were supposed to be. “Oh! You made a small Vegeta for me.” He said happily. “With his blue suit and white gloves and boots.”

“Yea!” Goten said, smiling from ear to ear. “But his hair is yellow, see? ‘Cause he’s a super saiyan!”

Now that Vegeta looked closer at his own figure, he realized that with all the orange and blue it could only be Goku. Actually, when he turned it just right, it was sort of human shaped. “Kakarot isn’t super saiyan?” He asked, surprised why Goku’s own son wouldn’t have made his figure like that.

Goten shook his head and climbed up next to Vegeta, then pointed at the Goku figure’s dark ‘hair’. “It’s because I tried to make his hair really long, like when he’s super saiyan 3, but after they baked it, it broke off when I painted it, and then Camilla took the yellow paint while I tried to glue it back on, so I had to make it black instead.” He looked at Goku then. “Sorry I couldn’t make you super saiyan daddy, but your hair kept breaking off.”

“I don’t mind at all Goten. You did your best, and I really like both figures.” Goku assured him.

Personally, Vegeta had probably never been given an uglier or more useless gift, but somehow he still felt strangely happy to receive this pitiful attempt at art. “I… Like it too.” He admitted slowly. “Thank you Goten.”

Goten grinned. “Vegeta got daddy, and daddy got Vegeta, but you’re supposed to place them together.” He explained.

“Don’t worry, we will.” Goku said.

“I think that was everything under the tree.” Gohan said, after taking a peek. “Thanks for the book dad.”

“You’re welcome.” Goku told him. “But actually Vegeta and I have another surprise for you.”

Vegeta tensed up. It was show time. “Yes…” He said slowly, while licking his lips. “There is something we want to tell you.”

Trunks had started sulking when Goten’s presents were so well received. A part of him regretted not trying to give his papa anything; if he had he would have gotten praised too. Now he looked up though, wondering what the surprise was. “Did you guys get us a gift?” He asked.

Goten, who was still seated next to Vegeta, looked at them too. “What is it? Can I see it? Can I be the one to unwrap it?”

Goku smiled at him, a blush already rising in his cheeks, and though his face didn’t betray any nervousness, his hand was clenching Vegeta’s sweater. “It’s not something you can unwrap, and you can’t see it yet… But next year, when we celebrate, we will be one more person.” He told them cryptically.

When the boys just stared, Vegeta clarified for them. “You’re getting a new sibling. Kakarot is pregnant.” He said, seeing no reason to drag out the reveal.

Trunks immediately looked both startled and confused, but Goten just gasped and looked at Goku’s belly. “Really? You have a baby in there daddy?” He climbed over Vegeta’s lap to reach his father, and was pulled into a half embrace by Goku. Goten placed a hand on Goku’s belly, eyes wide. “It’s bigger than normal.” He noticed.

Meanwhile Trunks had found his voice, and was watching them with a frown, sure that they were making fun of him. “Don’t be stupid Goten. Men can’t get pregnant.”

“They can’t?”

Vegeta cut in. “ _Human_ men can’t, but Kakarot isn’t human. We are saiyans.”

“That’s right.” Gohan piped up. “When you think about dad and Vegeta being aliens, it’s not actually that weird.”

Out the corner of his eye, Vegeta saw the relief at his oldest son’s acceptance flashing over Goku’s face. He had clearly been more worried than he had pretended. “You… Are you okay with it Gohan?” Goku asked carefully, wanting to be sure.

Gohan smiled at his father, happy that he had been told in advance, so he hadn’t freaked out and hurt his dad by accident. “As long as you’re happy dad.”

“I’m happy!” Goten exclaimed, stealing the spotlight again. “This means I won’t be the baby anymore!”

Trunks was just staring at the floor and not saying anything. Vegeta noticed it, but Goku was too relieved by his own sons’ acceptance to spot it. “That’s right, you’ll be a big brother too Goten.”

“Will it be a boy or a girl?” Goten asked.

“We don’t know yet.” Goku said. “We can find out once I have a checkup, but we haven’t found a doctor for it yet…”

At those words, Gohan frowned. “Will that be a problem?” He asked seriously.

Vegeta left Trunks alone for now, and looked at Gohan instead. “Kakarot’s personal identification actually doesn’t say human, but ‘human type with animal features’. It will probably serve us well this time around, since many of the anthropomorphic beast clans have different ways of reproducing. If we both show up at the hospital and claim to be something other than human, it will probably be fine. People are willing to hand-wave a lot as long as there is a semi-reasonable explanation.” He said.

Vegeta didn’t mention how they actually hoped Bulma would step in and help them, since her private doctors were paid exorbitant sums to keep silent about anything strange going on, because it was still up in the air whether she would agree to it or not.

Gohan looked mollified by the reply, but then thought about another problem. “What about money…?”

“We’re okay.” Vegeta just said.

True, they didn’t have a steady income, but Vegeta had savings from the last ten years or so. Bulma had always given him money to ‘buy something nice for himself’ while they still lived together, but Vegeta had never been inclined to. Instead he had left the money alone and let them build interest over almost a decade. It had been one of Bulma’s ways to show she cared, but in the end it had sort of backfired on her. Vegeta had used those savings when getting a house together with Kakarot, and to prove to the divorce lawyers that he wasn’t a bum, but should be allowed to see his son. He felt a bit bad about basically using money she had given him against her, but it wasn’t like he had consciously planned it that way.

Another surprising income for them had turned out to be Mr. Satan. Vegeta found the man ridiculous, but he admitted that in the normal world, he was practical to have around. Not only had Satan given Goku the price money for ‘saving the Earth’, he had also agreed to pay them as long as they wouldn’t challenge his role as ‘champion’ publically. Vegeta thought that worked out fine. This way Vegeta got out of participating in a martial arts competition where he hopelessly outclassed everyone every three years, and he actually got more money than he would have by winning. It wasn’t a bad deal, and since Satan himself had been the one to suggest the deal in the first place, Vegeta didn’t feel bad about it either. 

Vegeta doubted that Gohan knew how much his girlfriend’s father was actually paying them though.

The front door suddenly slammed, which caught everyone’s attention.

Goku blinked at the closed door in confusion. “Where did Trunks go?” He asked.

“Maybe he needed to pee?” Goten said, not particularly worried about his friend. He was still way too excited that he was getting a new sibling.

“He could have used the bathroom for that…” Gohan said quietly.

Goku frowned and looked at Vegeta.

“I’ll handle it.” Vegeta told him and stood up. Quickly he went to the entrance and pulled on his jacket and boots, then stepped outside in the snow. He had half expected Trunks to fly off in anger, but he could tell that the boy was still close by. Vegeta didn’t have to walk long, he only needed to follow Trunks’ footprints to the edge of the woods before he found the boy curled up against a fallen tree trunk, face hidden against his pulled up knees. Vegeta could tell from his shaking shoulders and back that Trunks was crying.

Slowly Vegeta walked over and sat down next to him. He hesitated for a moment, but then put a hand on his back. Goku always touched his sons when he comforted them, and it seemed to work. Vegeta wasn’t good at this and he knew it, so he took a page out of his mate’s book instead.

They sat there for quite a while, Trunks crying and Vegeta silently rubbing his back. Finally Trunks looked up, thereby revealing his snotty and tear swollen face, and looked at his father. “You’re not coming back anymore, are you.” He said, a couple more fat tears escaping.

“…Were you expecting me to?” Vegeta asked.

Trunks sniffled wetly and looked away, tears still running. “I-I thought that after a while you’d come back home. Mom kept saying ‘he’ll realize he’s made a mistake and come crawling back’.” Trunks let out a strangled sob again and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “I thought you’d get mad at Goku eventually, or run out of money, or—or just realize that _you were wrong_.”

Vegeta didn’t say anything to this. He just watched Trunks quietly, which prompted the boy to continue. “You just left! And now you’re suddenly having a baby with Goku. You’re _replacing me!_ ”

Vegeta’s eyes widened. “Trunks that’s not—“

“Is it because I’m only half saiyan?” Trunks asked, back to looking insistently at his father. “Is that why you left? Because you realized that you could have a real saiyan baby together with Goku, and then I just wasn’t g-god enough anymore?!”

If nothing else, Trunks had certainly inherited both of his parents’ tempers. Both Bulma and Vegeta screamed at people when they got angry and hurt, whereas Goku and his sons all got quiet and withdrawn. The only plus about the yelling was that it got the problems out in the open sooner or later. Vegeta wasn’t sure how long his son had thought that his relationship with Goku was only a temporary thing, but it was time to disabuse him of the notion, along with his other assumptions.

“That’s not why Kakarot and I decided to have a baby.” Vegeta said. He contemplated for a moment, but then decided that Trunks was old enough to understand a fuller version of the explanation. “When we got together, we didn’t know that Kakarot was the type of saiyan who could get pregnant. It was a surprise. When he—“

“So the baby’s an accident.” Trunks said, breaking Vegeta off and sounding relived. “You don’t actually want it. You can still come back! It’s not like you have to stay with Goku just because he got pregnant.”

That statement was enough to have Vegeta’s patience run out. “I stayed with your mother when she got accidentally pregnant with you, didn’t I?!” Vegeta snapped. “And no, we planned this child.” As much as they could anyway, since they had had very little time to decide. Still, condoms were invented for a reason, and they had consciously decided not to use them. “I’m not sure what Bulma told you, but me being with Kakarot is a permanent thing, and so is your new sibling.”

It took Vegeta a moment to notice how Trunks had frozen up. With an annoyed frown Vegeta glared at his son, wondering what the problem was _now_.      

Trunks expression slowly crumbled. “I…. _I_ was an accident? Did you—Did you never actually want me from the start?” He looked absolutely devastated. Eyes glassy from tears and shock, Trunks turned to stare unseeingly at the snow, everything doing an 180 turn in his head. “B-but then that means… If you wanted to be with Goku, then me and mom were the accident.” 

Vegeta ran a hand over his face, exasperated. “None of my choices were ‘accidents’. Your conception might have been one, but me choosing to be your father wasn’t. I wouldn’t have wasted any time with you and your mother if I hadn’t wanted to; I’m not that kind of person. It’s true that I ended up choosing Kakarot over your mother, but he always meant a lot to me, probably more than her in some ways. Even if it wasn’t always… Romantic. That doesn’t mean I suddenly regret you though.”

Trunks hid his face his knees again and sobbed. “This is all Goku’s fault! I wish he had stayed _dead_!” If he had, then his father would never have left.

“Don’t you _dare_ say that!” Vegeta growled and smacked Trunks harshly over the head. “Be mad all you want, but don’t blame it on Kakarot. He couldn’t have made me do anything _I_ didn’t want to.” Fed up with his son’s self-pity, Vegeta stood up, his tail lashing in agitation. He started back towards the house, but Trunks’ loud sobbing stopped him after only a few steps.

Hesitantly, Vegeta turned back and watched the small desolate figure his son made, sitting there alone in the cold snow and sobbing. Annoyed with his own softness, Vegeta growled lowly to himself before walking back. This time he brushed the snow of the fallen tree trunk and sat down there. The ground was too damn cold.

“…Do you know how Kakarot and I met?” Vegeta asked after gathering his thoughts for a while.

Trunks didn’t answer, but Vegeta was fairly certain he didn’t know. Out of the kids, only Gohan knew about Vegeta’s past, namely because he had been there himself. Somehow bringing up that he was still considered a criminal in several galaxies, one wanted for genocide, war crimes and piracy, just didn’t tend to come up in normal conversations.

“When I came to Earth the first time it was to kill everyone and steal the dragon balls for myself. Suffice to say I was a ‘bad guy’.” Vegeta told him, which made Trunks stop crying and look up at him with wide startled eyes. “Actually, most of Kakarot’s friends were already laying dead, some in several pieces, by the time he showed up to stop me.” Vegeta couldn’t help smiling faintly at the memory. Not of having killed the other fighters, but the recollection of seeing Goku for the first time – Vegeta’s scouter beeping away with his rising battle power. It hadn’t been love, but there had definitely been intrigue at first sight.

“You… You fought Goku and everyone?” Trunks asked disbelievingly.

“Oh yes. We fought for _hours_ after he rejected my offer to join me. Best fight I had had in years to be honest.” Vegeta sighed. “Luckily his surviving friends and Gohan showed up before I could kill him. In the end _I_ was the one who had to be spared. For many years, I never understood why Kakarot did it. I was a bad person, I had tried to kill both him and his son, so why spare me?”

Trunks was listening raptly now, since he had never known this about his father. “….Maybe he knew you could be good?”

“Maybe.” Vegeta said. In reality it was probably Goku’s battle lust towards strong opponents which was to thank, but he didn’t mention it. “I know you’ve been told some things about Frieza, and about how Kakarot was the first to turn super saiyan.”

“Gohan told me…” Trunks said.

“Right. Well, after we thought Frieza had been defeated, I came back to Earth before Kakarot. I was stuck here at first, but as soon as I got my hands on a spaceship, I went to look for him. I knew he had to be somewhere out there, and I guess part of me thought I’d be able to feel him.” Vegeta chuckled. Back then he had never realized how desperate and stupid his trek through space to find Goku was. “I didn’t find him of course, but I came back to Earth, and I stayed here. For him. Even when I thought I hated him, it was always for his sake.”

“Didn’t you stay because of mama?” Trunks asked, voice small.

“No. Your mother just happened… I suppose she planned it, but I certainly didn’t. I was only interested in fighting Kakarot again.” Vegeta said, then realized how that sounded a bit too harsh and backpedaled. “Of course I began to care for her a lot eventually, after you were born. We bonded over being your parents.”

“Why are you telling me all this papa…?” Trunks asked quietly, head down. Not only had it not been fun to hear, it had shaken a lot of Trunks beliefs. His very world-view so to speak.  

“I suppose it’s because I want you to understand, if not why I chose this, then why Kakarot is important. He was always my motivation, in many things. Without him to keep me here, I would never have had you.” Vegeta sighed and put a hand on Trunks shoulder again. “Be mad at me all you want, but don’t take it out on Kakarot. Behave around him. You don’t have to think of him as your dad, and you certainly never have to call him that, but he _does_ want to be your friend and if you treat him badly then all you’ll do is make him sad. It won’t make me come back.”

“…” Trunks stared silently at the falling snow for a while, the white dust settling in his lavender hair. Then finally he nodded slowly.

“Good.” Vegeta said and got up. He held out a hand for Trunks to take. “Now let’s go back inside. I’m freezing my damn tail off out here.”

Trunks hesitated for a moment, but then took his father’s hand. He didn’t let it go again before they got back to the house.

 

xXx

 

Inside the living room, Goku was still seated on the couch, one of his sons on each side. They all looked up when Vegeta came back in with Trunks, and in response to the attention Trunks pulled back a bit to stand behind his father’s legs, suddenly shy.

Since he was of the opinion that his son might as well get over it, Vegeta pushed him forward mercilessly. “Isn’t there something you want to say Trunks?” He prompted.

“I…” Trunks squirmed and shuffled his feet, but then finally glanced at Goku.  “…When is the baby going to be born?”

It wasn’t the apology Vegeta had been aiming for, but Goku seemed to take it anyway. His face spilt into a smile. “In June. At least that’s what we figure, if saiyan pregnancies take as long as humans’.”

After another push from Vegeta, Trunks hesitantly walked closer. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, eyes focused somewhere around Goku’s chest. “You decide on any names yet?”

“Nah.” Goku chuckled. “We’ll wait to see what it is. It might not be a boy this time, you could all be getting a sister!”

Goten, who was leaning against Goku’s side, frowned. “Are those fun?” He asked dubiously. “The girls in my class aren’t fun. They’re just noisy, and they never want to wrestle or fight.”

“Babies are noisy in general.” Gohan told his brother. “And also very fragile. He or she won’t be that much fun when it comes to playing for a couple of years.”

“Oh…” Muttered Goten.

Trunks had walked over to stand beside his friend, and now clapped him lightly on the shoulder. “It’s fine. _We_ can still play together until then.”

“I guess that’s true.” Goten said, instantly brightening up. “Thanks Trunks.”

While the boys weren’t looking, Goku cast a glance at Vegeta. His eyes were full of warmth. ‘ _Thank you_ ’ he mouthed quietly. Vegeta just nodded to him. Trunks was his son, and therefor his to deal with. There was no reason for Goku to feel thankful.     

“Okay, that really was all the surprises for tonight.” Goku said and stood up. “Now who wants dessert?”

There were several exclamations of ‘Me!’ and the boys all followed Goku into the kitchen.

Vegeta watched the boys all cluster around Goku, even Trunks forgetting most of his hesitance at the promise of sugary food. Their family might not be quite cohesive yet, but they were slowly getting there. Perhaps by the time next year rolled around, things would have settled. In any case, Vegeta found that he looked forward to their next Christmas.

With a chuckle he followed his mate and boys into the kitchen too.

 

xXx

 

It was late. Teeth had been brushed, beds made, and bed time stories read. Vegeta had already tucked Trunks in, the boy for once not insisting that he was too old for it. Now he was sitting on Goten’s bed, on the opposite side of the room since the boys shared, and trying to convince the eight year old that it really was night time and yes, he had to sleep.

“Just one more story?” Goten begged, despite his heavy eyelids.

“No. Your dad already read you two. It’s sleeping time.” Vegeta told him firmly.

Goten sighed. He could usually get his dad to cave, but he realized the futility of trying with Vegeta. Instead he burrowed more firmly into his bedding and blinked sleepily up at the older saiyan. “Okay…” He mumbled, a yawn already trying to break free. As soon as his head really hit the pillow, his eyes slipped closed. “Goodnight papa.”

“Goodnight.” Vegeta responded, but then froze when he realized what Goten had just called him. Scarcely breathing, Vegeta sat still as a statue, staring at Goku’s youngest son as he nodded off. Soon Goten was breathing deeply and evenly, but Vegeta still hadn’t caught his breath.

Carefully he stood up and cast a weary glance towards Trunk’s bed. His son was still awake, his blue eyes reflecting faintly in the light from the hallway. Since he was staring, Vegeta walked over to him and sat down.

“…Do you mind Goten calling me that?” Vegeta asked him quietly, as to not wake the other boy.

Surprisingly, Trunks shook his head. “He did it sometimes when we were younger too, and I didn’t like it then… But it’s okay now. I’m old enough to share.”

Vegeta had never known that before, but it might explain why Goten had been so quick to accept him. “I see. That’s good.”

“Besides…” Trunks said slowly, sounding thoughtful. “I don’t think Goten would mind sharing _his_ dad with me… If I want it.”

“Do you?” Vegeta wondered, their earlier talk outside still fresh in his mind. 

Trunks fiddled with the edge of his comforter for a moment, but then shrugged. “Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.”

“That’s okay.” Vegeta said, and smoothed out his comforter, tucking Trunks’ hands underneath. “You can take your time.” With that, he stood up.

“Goodnight papa.” Trunks called just as he was closing the door.

“Goodnight son.”

 

xXx

 

Goku was seated in the kitchen when Vegeta came down, a mug of mint tea between his hands. He looked tired but happy, and smiled as soon as he spotted Vegeta. “Gohan’s already gone to bed. He’s sleeping in the guestroom.” Goku told him, then tilted his head when he got a good look at his mate’s expression. “What’s with the face?” He wondered.

“…Goten called me papa.” Vegeta admitted.

“Oh.” Goku said, then took a sip of his tea. “Do you mind?”

“No.” Strangely enough, Vegeta found that he didn’t. In fact it almost felt right. Goku hadn’t been there when Goten was born, but Vegeta had. He had seen the boy grow since he was just a baby – had even held him, fed him and changed his diaper when it proved necessary during his playdates with Trunks. Somehow Goten had gone from being thought of as ‘Kakarot’s brat’ by Vegeta, to something akin to pack. In fact part of Vegeta had already seen the boy as ‘his’ and it felt strangely good to now have it acknowledged. “Trunks doesn’t mind either.”

“That’s good.” Goku sighed. “…He smelled upset when you came back in. It looked like he had been crying.”

Vegeta walked over, pulled out a chair and sat down in front of his mate. “He did. Until now he thought I would eventually come back. The baby made him realize that wasn’t happening.”

“Oh…” Goku’s face fell and he looked down into his tea.

“We talked about it. About you, and what you mean to me. I told him the baby didn’t mean that he was being replaced.” Vegeta said. “He seemed better towards the end. Just give him some time to adjust, I think it’ll go better now.”

Goku snorted. “Hopefully. It’s sad to see him be so weary of me, though he forgot several times today, like when we were playing hide and seek. He’s still a kid after all.”

“Maybe he’ll end up calling you daddy too someday.” Vegeta teased, only half joking since Trunks seemed to be thinking about it.

“Maybe.” Goku said. “I’m not holding my breath though. But as long as he isn’t unhappy with me, then it’s fine.” He leaned his cheek on one hand and watched Vegeta thoughtfully. “What if Gohan started calling you papa?” He asked with a small smirk.

Vegeta winced. “That… Might take some getting used to.” Understatement of the year. “The boy’s practically an adult already.”

Goku laughed. “He’s more like a kid than you think.” He stood up and walked over to the sink where he placed his empty mug. Then he ambled back towards Vegeta, tail lifted and swishing back and forth lazily, until he was standing behind him. Goku wrapped his arms loosely around Vegeta’s shoulders and neck, and nuzzled his nose into his hair. “Hey…” He murmured lowly. “You did really well with the boys today.”  

Vegeta leaned back against his body, while drawing in the spicy change in Goku’s scent. He knew that it was a turn on for Goku when he acted emotionally competent. “Is there something you want Kakarot?”

“Mmhh…” Goku hummed next to Vegeta’s ear. “I want to unwrap my Christmas present now.”

“What makes you think I got you one?” Vegeta asked.

“I’m holding it.” Goku replied in a purr.

Vegeta laughed, his blood already pumping and running south. He caught one of Goku’s wandering hands and kissed the palm. “As you wish.”

With a lot of giggling, kissing and bumping into walls when they grabbed at each other, Vegeta and Goku made their way to their own bedroom to celebrate the rest of the night together.

 

**The end.**

**Author's Note:**

> So that was fun. I’m thinking of turning this into a small series of other holiday one-shots set in the same au. It’ll mainly just be more of Goku and Vegeta navigating their relationship with each other and the rest of their extended family, because with a big ‘your kids, my kids and our kids’ situation like they have going on, there is always more room for everyday drama. Anyway, we’ll see what happens.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it.


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